Back spasms end Napoli's night early

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers' 6-5 loss to the Astros on Saturday night also left them with some concerns about first baseman Mike Napoli.

Napoli had to leave the game in the fifth inning after he experienced more back spasms. He has been bothered by the spasms since the Rangers played in cold weather during a three-game series in Boston last week. A weekend on the artificial turf in Toronto didn't help, and Napoli missed the first two games of the series against the Rays earlier this week.

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers' 6-5 loss to the Astros on Saturday night also left them with some concerns about first baseman Mike Napoli.

Napoli had to leave the game in the fifth inning after he experienced more back spasms. He has been bothered by the spasms since the Rangers played in cold weather during a three-game series in Boston last week. A weekend on the artificial turf in Toronto didn't help, and Napoli missed the first two games of the series against the Rays earlier this week.

"He has been fighting through it, but he felt good enough to play," manager Jeff Banister said. "It seemed to flare up on him."

Napoli was slow in getting to an errant throw by second baseman Rougned Odor in the fourth inning on Norichika Aoki's infield single. Napoli was supposed to bat in the bottom of the frame, but Ryan Rua, not Napoli, was on deck when Joey Gallo struck out for the third out. Rua went in to play left field, and Gallo moved to first base in the fifth.

With the Rangers having a day game on Sunday and an off-day on Monday, Napoli may not be back in the lineup until Tuesday against the Mets at the earliest.